Police - Serve and Protect

[KingsGambit]

You're welcome!

and when the criminals run around with AK47s and hand grenades, the police have to protect themselves and give an appropriate response. The so-called militarization of the police, is by and large, what they have to do to keep the peace.

I think the references to militarization are specifically about buying equipment from the military, which not every department does (so it's probably not necessary per se since so many do without it).

[Cow Poke]

Texas DPS officers keep Teddy Bears in the trunks of their patrol vehicles. If they have to arrest a mommy or daddy, or they encounter a child in an automobile accident, or for whatever reason, they give the Teddy Bear to the Child and make an effort to be kind and understanding.

I had to laugh when I read my "make an effort to be kinda and understanding"... like that's really hard. MOST of these men and women are parents, so they just treat these kids as their own. I think what I had in my head was that a police officer can be rather intimidating to a child with the uniform, hat, gun belt, etc., so they CONSCIOUSLY work to overcome that intimidation factor -- removing their hat, sitting down beside the child or kneeling, speaking softly (as opposed to their "official" voice)

In giving the Teddy Bear, the officer will ask the child to think of a good name, and lets the child name the Teddy to show it's really the CHILD's Teddy. I think that's cute.

[Cow Poke]

I think the references to militarization are specifically about buying equipment from the military, which not every department does (so it's probably not necessary per se since so many do without it).

Our Police Department has an MRAP. At first, some of our younger guys were excited to have it, til they began to realize there are precious few situations where it might be needed, it's HUGE, it's expensive to operate, it takes up HALF of the police storage room, it's NOISY, you have to be certified to drive it.....

But it was FREE! Even came with FREE SPARE TIRES -- a set of 8 at about $20,000 per tire!

[Cow Poke]

K-9 Officers. MOST of the K-9 people I know or know about were "dog people" who were cops, not cops who were turned into dog people. In SOME departments, there's an absolute "don't let anybody touch the dog" mentality, but in many others, the dog is not only a "weapon", but a PR tool. Dogs just have a natural sense, for example, to know that a child is hurt or afraid or upset, and I have seen our K-9 guy work his dog to calm down a scared child.

They actually had to add additional training to our K-9 because a lot of the children the dog encounters are the children of drug suspects. SADLY, some of these children, in the process of being handled by their parents, have enough drug residue on them for the dog to "alert". The dog had to be trained to "alert" in a more subtle manner when it detected drugs on a child. It's a crying shame that we even have to THINK that way, but it's part of our society.

Meanwhile, our drug dog IS used in PR in the schools, and helps break down that barrier that some of them learn at home that "cops are bad".

[KingsGambit]

Meanwhile, our drug dog IS used in PR in the schools, and helps break down that barrier that some of them learn at home that "cops are bad".

I was subbing for a fifth grade class once that had an officer bring a drug dog in to show the kids. Then afterwards, they had a little writing assignment about what they saw... and of course, some fifth grade boy asks me how to spell "marijuana".

[Christianbookworm]

K-9 Officers. MOST of the K-9 people I know or know about were "dog people" who were cops, not cops who were turned into dog people. In SOME departments, there's an absolute "don't let anybody touch the dog" mentality, but in many others, the dog is not only a "weapon", but a PR tool. Dogs just have a natural sense, for example, to know that a child is hurt or afraid or upset, and I have seen our K-9 guy work his dog to calm down a scared child.

They actually had to add additional training to our K-9 because a lot of the children the dog encounters are the children of drug suspects. SADLY, some of these children, in the process of being handled by their parents, have enough drug residue on them for the dog to "alert". The dog had to be trained to "alert" in a more subtle manner when it detected drugs on a child. It's a crying shame that we even have to THINK that way, but it's part of our society.

Meanwhile, our drug dog IS used in PR in the schools, and helps break down that barrier that some of them learn at home that "cops are bad".

That's pretty sad that people would use drugs around their kids! Well, they shouldn't be abusing drugs period, but around their kids!

[Cow Poke]

I was subbing for a fifth grade class once that had an officer bring a drug dog in to show the kids. Then afterwards, they had a little writing assignment about what they saw... and of course, some fifth grade boy asks me how to spell "marijuana".

I think one of the saddest things I ever saw related thereto, was a time we had to go into a home of a drug dealer who had been killed by a rival dealer. The mom and 4 year old son were at home, and she had asked us to come remove the drugs from her house. I went with the team as the chaplain, and our K-9 guy came to sniff out the drugs. We had JUST ARRIVED in the living room, and were explaining the process.

When the little boy heard "search for drugs", he ran over to the easy chair, reached into a TV-Remote pocket on the side of the chair, and said, "This is where daddy keeps his crack pipe and gun".

Naturally, we quickly had him remove his hand from the pocket, and there was, indeed, a loaded .45 semi-auto, a crack pipe and some other paraphernalia.

[Cow Poke]

That's pretty sad that people would use drugs around their kids! Well, they shouldn't be abusing drugs period, but around their kids!

One of our Church members has a foster child who was a "crack baby". The girl, now 9, is PRECIOUS, but wow... she has lots of issues. Her mom was doing drugs while pregnant.

[Epoetker]

Our Police Department has an MRAP. At first, some of our younger guys were excited to have it, til they began to realize there are precious few situations where it might be needed, it's HUGE, it's expensive to operate, it takes up HALF of the police storage room, it's NOISY, you have to be certified to drive it.....

But it was FREE! Even came with FREE SPARE TIRES -- a set of 8 at about $20,000 per tire!

Even in the middle of Iraq, MRAP usage by the actual infantry was extremely low, as it was only good for bombs on public roads, and the caches and safe houses are almost NEVER on public roads, but back streets, narrow corridors, and other places where the heaviest thing you could risk was an up-armored Humvee.

Works as an extremely expensive moving vehicle, so if you have to transport someone to a prison down a road lined with IEDs, you're all set!

[Sparko]

I want an MRAP!

[seanD]

I started this thread to thank police officers, not condemn them. You might want to rethink your participation in here.

No problem.

[Jedidiah]

I want an MRAP!

My grandson was part of an MRAP crew in Iraq. They thought it was fun.

[Jedidiah]

I'm going with Stephen Carter's view on this: the danger (and responsibility) is not primarily in the police, but the law:



Nor can the people who call for the laws to be enforced at the point of a gun but shrink in horror when the violence happens be fairly described as 'good citizens.' Nice to see what I do seem to recall saying previously a few dozen times being said in Bloomberg, though I'll credit some of my old Manosphere influences for their habit of asking those explicit questions in a simple format, like Who Will Swing the Blade?

I have to agree that the biggest problem is the law. We have so many useless detailed laws that no one, not even a lawyer, knows what is legal or not without the help of a law clerk or paralegal to research things for him. Yet we are told ignorance of the law is no excuse. I support the police, but the laws - and the whole legal system - needs serious streamlining.

[Sparko]

This is cool!

[Cow Poke]

This is cool!

Yeah, I got a rock!